The Miko of SengokuJidai
by Angel Writer2
Summary: What have I done! It's a semi serious parody of the Wizard of Oz! gasp Let's see if you can guess who is who. Chapter 1 up: Kagome, welcome to Sengoku Jidai. Hope you like your stay, it's sure to be one long, weird trip!
1. Be Careful What You Wish For

What's this? I can't believe it. Posting another unfinished story! How dare I! Weeeell…anyway, this just cried to be written, and I'd like some feedback on it. WDYL is currently being revised (I didn't like the way it was going, hopefully it will be better the second time around.) Read, review, ya'll know the drill. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Oz, or anything along that level. The storyline, however, you can totally blame on me.

_**The Miko of Sengoku Jidai**_

_**Chapter 1: Be Careful What You Wish For… **_

Kagome looked around the shrine grounds once more and sighed. Her life was dull. She had lived all of 15 years -tothe day,in fact -on this small shrine, the so-called Sunset Shrine. For being a sunset, it was awfully colorless. Happiness had been a fleeting dream of childhood, long gone since she had begun working long hours tending the shrine; the hours she didn't spend at school. There was no time for friends in her busy schedule, and the loneliness slowly stole the color she had left. Her mother and grandfather also worked hard to make a living and were already gray from the difficult lives they had led. Her brother was the only one with any color left in his life. He constantly abandoned his chores on the shrine to spend time with friends and enjoy himself. Not a good thing for the family; they needed all the help they could get, but Souta kept some light around them, so perhaps it helped in more ways than they thought. Unfortunately, Kagome and the rest could not follow in his footsteps, or maybe they just didn't know how. And now our story begins, on one special, gray day.

Kagome swept the shrine steps, for lack of anything better to do. The customers had long since left, her mother was baking dinner, and Souta had once again gone gallivanting off on some adventure or another. Grampa was nowhere in sight, but probably off making more useless sealing spells. So she was left to do the rest of the cleaning up.

"sigh I wish things weren't always so _boring_ around here!" She said, looking up at the only thing that had retained its color through the years; the Goshinboku tree. Sometimes it seemed almost magickal…But that saying isn't just there for fun; be careful what you wish for…

The next moment the wind began to howl, and a dark, funnel shape appeared in the distance. Her mom ran out of the house, frantic.

"TORNADO! Everyone in the basement, _now_!"

'_A tornado in Tokyo?'_ Kagome thought incredulously. _'Now I've seen everything!_ But she was still curious to see what would happen with the tornado, and wanted to figure out this strange occurrence. As her family all ran inside the house and slammed the door, she stayed out as the tornado wreaked havoc. It seemed to collect little specks of dust as it went along, but those specks soon were revealed to be bits of houses, and sometimes a stray animal. At this point, Kagome knew that the twister was getting dangerously close.

She turned to go back inside her house, but the door wouldn't open!_ ' It must have gotten jammed shut when Mom slammed it!' _She thought frantically. _'Now where do I go!' _She scanned the shrine-grounds with a panicked gaze, and her eyes lit on the well house. Well, it would be much safer then standing outside.

Kagome dashed inside without a second thought. She stared into the depths of the dry well and gulped nervously. It would be safer inside the well, logic told her. But staring into that deep, dark pit was sapping her courage. _'Better jump, or I'll get blown away by the twister.'_ She told herself. So she drew in a long, slow breath; shut her eyes tightly; and jumped.

The next few moments seemed to last all of eternity, and yet at the same time, took no time at all. As Kagome plummeted into the depths of the well, the sound of the storm suddenly vanished. She seemed to be floating or floating (she was too disoriented to know which it was) through a cloud of purplish blue light.

When the motion and lights stopped, Kagome found herself at the bottom of the well, along with Buyo the cat, who looked slightly dazed.

"Wow, I'm glad _that's _over." She said aloud, startling herself with the sound of her own voice. "Am I dreaming?" She pinched her forearm. AOW! Nope, not dreaming. I wonder what all that light was..." As she said this, she realized that the wind had stopped blowing. "Hmm. I guess the tornado's stopped now! Buyo, we need to get out of here. It's dirty!" She brushed dust off of herself and stood up.

She looked up, expecting to see the roof of the well house above her head, and instead found herself gazing into a deep blue sky. _The tornado must have blown away the well house then..._ She thought. Kagome grabbed onto the vines that were hanging from the sides of the well, and pulled herself up the side. She was immediately blinded by color. When her eyes adjusted, she found herself staring into a vibrantly green forest. The trees towered well above her head, and when she tried to get a glimpse of the leafy tops by craning her neck, she almost fell back into the well.

"Wow..." She said breathlessly, looking now at the multi-colored flowers on the forest floor as she pulled herself completely out of the well. "Buyo," She said to the cat that jumped out of the well beside her. "I don't think we're in Tokyo anymore."

* * *

Short and sweet, sort of a prologue thing. Whether or not you liked it, review. If you totally love Wizard of Oz and think I'm a heretic for doing such an incredibly horrible thing to the story, I will tell you…I could do SO much worse damage! Mwahaha… 


	2. Not Tokyo, Not Kansas Buyo, We're Lost

Two chapters up in one day, we're off to a good start! (Alright, I admit, they were both already written) Anyway, have fun, yadda yadda yadda, is anyone actually reading this part anyway?

_**Chapter 2: Not Tokyo, Not Kansas…Buyo, We're Lost**_

Instead of sitting around staring at all the trees that had suddenly appeared around the well for the next few hours, Kagome pulled herself out of her shocked stupor. She looked around again, searching for anything that was in the slightest way recognizable. Still, her gaze met nothing but an ancient forest. She hopelessly shrugged, and turned to the over-large cat sitting at her feet (and nearly on them).

"Buyo, might as well start walking. You need the exercise anyway."

After what seemed like hours of shoving through the thick underbrush (but was really more like 20 minutes), the two travelers reached another, smaller clearing. Kagome stopped for a moment to admire the beauty and height of all the trees in this majestic place, and Buyo collapsed to the ground, panting from the exertion of moving his fat, lazy body. Suddenly Kagome's arms were latched on to from behind by slim, sickeningly pale hands that possessed an amazing strength.

"What, pray tell, are you doing in my forest?" An icy voice hissed in her ear.

Kagome gulped nervously; she knew that voice wasn't human, and she did NOT want to know exactly what it was that she had disturbed. But the hands were slowly turning her around, so she decided to face this creature head on, not cowering in fear. What she found would haunt her dreams for years to come.

Black, cold eyes stared into her's almost blankly; without any emotion whatsoever. Extremely long black hair flowed down her head, framing a woman's face, which would have looked normal enough but for the heartless eyes and blank-yet somehow horrifying-expression. Kagome broke her gaze with those eyes, and looked down, immediately wishing she hadn't. This creature had the head and torso of a naked woman…but below that, instead of legs, was the body of a centipede, uncommonly large, and it stretched beyond the clearing, to disappear into the trees.

A slight smile stretched over the monster's red lips as it watched Kagome's eyes widen in terror.

"Do I frighten you, little girl? Good, you should be frightened, trespassing on someone's home like this. Sadly, you'll never have the chance to do it again-the animals are starting to disappear, and I'm quite hungry these days…" It paused, watching the implications of these words set in with the satisfied look of a cat who has just caught a mouse, and is immensely enjoying playing games before devouring it.

The confusion that had momentarily replaced Kagome's terrified expression become shock as she realized what the monster meant.

"You-you're gonna…EAT ME! That's SICK! Let me go! EW!" Probably not the most intelligent response to make, but in this situation-any response means you aren't paralyzed completely with fear.

The creature simply grinned and licked its lips. It came closer and closer, bringing Kagome's certain demise. In a last ditch attempt to protect herself, she partially flung up her arms, holding them out in front of her as a kind of shield…and a strange bright light shot out of her hands, momentarily blinding both her and the centipede-woman.

Kagome rapidly blinked her eyes to make her vision return, afraid of what she would see when she could see again; like an enraged woman/centipede-monster hell-bent on making Kagome lunch. When her eyes did finally clear, though, this wasn't what she found. The creature was clutching at its face, which, along with the rest of its body, seemed to be melting. Her eyes widened as she watched it disintegrate into nothingness, writhing in pain until the very end.

Thoroughly shaken, Kagome collapsed to her knees and wondered how it was possible that she was still alive. She glanced at the spot where the centipede woman had fallen, shuddered, and twitched her head away quickly, glad that she had such a strong stomach. She sucked in a long breath, and let it out slowly, to calm her still frazzled nerves. _'Thank Kami-sama…If I ever want to get home again, I have to stay ALIVE'_

There was a sound from somewhere by her leg, and something touched her knee lightly. Fearing the worst, Kagome looked over, and found…Buyo, her cat and companion that had been forgotten in her moments of peril.

"Well Buyo, that was quite an adventure…let's never do that again. This forest is giving me the creeps (I wonder why) so how about we get out of here, huh?" Buyo meowed his agreement, so she hefted the large cat into her arms, and set of at a much faster pace than they had started out with.

After another long while of trudging through the thick undergrowth, Kagome and Buyo finally reached the end of the forest, and a little village on its outskirts. Before she even set foot outside the forest, she was enthusiastically greeted by a short old woman with an eye-patch over one eye.

"Kikyo? No…it can't be, she would never leave her duties to come here, even if it were urgent, she would send someone else. Who are ye, child, that ye should look so much like my beloved sister? And was it your miko power I saw acting so explosively in that forest?"

Kagome stared at the old woman for a moment, trying to get her bearings. Who was this 'Kikyo' person that she looked so much like?

"Um…I'm Kagome, sorry, I don't know your sister. Miko power…? Oh, do you mean the bright light that came out of me and killed that evil centipede creature?" She was more thinking out loud than answering questions, but at the mention of the centipede, a collective gasp went through the people that, she just now noticed, were gathering around her and this old woman.

"I-I'm sorry if I killed anyone important to you! It's just that…it was trying to eat me! I didn't even mean to! I have no idea where that light even came from!" Kagome babbled.

The old woman laughed, and laughter spread through the bystanders. "Do not worry yourself, child. This 'evil centipede creature' that you speak of has been tormenting this village for years. Ye have saved us from its evil grasp! Ye are a hero to this village, Kagome." The old woman bowed reverently to her. "I am Kaede, miko in this village, and I have never seen powers as strong as yours."

She took hold of Kagome's hand, and began to lead her through the villagers. As Kagome passed them, their eyes trained on her, and she heard whispers; but nothing held any malice. In fact, they looked almost…reverent. But, all she had done what anyone else would've done, right? She had just happened to survive because that weird light had come out of her hands and killed the centipede. She hadn't even done it on purpose!

There was no reason for them to worship her.

She was so lost in her own thoughts that she failed to notice something or someone standing in her path. It was what appeared to be a person wrapped in a baboon pelt, with the head covering its face, like a mask. The villagers gasped in terror, and ducked to the ground, covering themselves as best they could to ward of an attack. Kaede was the only one who remained standing by Kagome's side.

"You, girl. How did you get here, and…who are you? Not Kikyo, though you look just like her…you don't smell quite like her, and she's holed up in her demon-proof city, in fear of ME!"

Thoughts rushed through Kagome's head. _'Kikyo-who is this Kikyo! sigh Looks like I have to deal with another strange encounter; all I wanna do is go HOME!'_

Kagome looked at the stranger in the baboon pelt with a weary look, rather than guarded, like the look on Kaede's face, or fear, like the villagers.

"I'm Kagome. I have no idea how I got here, _you're_ more likely to answer that than I am. Now, will someone please tell me who this Kikyo person is!" Kaede and Naraku both gave her incredulous looks, wondering how Kagome could speak to Naraku so fearlessly. _'Perhaps she does not know Naraku either. After all, she did not even recognize her own miko power, when even the youngest child here knows what to look for. Is it possible…that she is from another world, here to save us all?'_

"Naraku, what is it ye want? Our village has done nothing against you, so why is it ye are here?" Kaede intervened, before Kagome got herself killed for simply being there.

"Ah, old woman. I'm here because someone killed my servant; the centipede woman. Surely you would've guessed that already, with your meager skills as a miko."

Kagome froze. That evil centipede thing was his servant! He put it there to terrorize this poor village! She began to burn with rage against this inhuman monster, and, unknown to her, she started to glow with unearthly light; her miko powers. Kaede slowly backed away, knowing this could get dangerous.

Naraku's attention was caught by the glow. He stared, feeling the power strike lightly at his demon half; a warning, subconsciously given by Kagome for him to leave now, or she would kill him. But Naraku wasn't the terror of the world for nothing; he took a step forward, pulled of his baboon hood, and locked eyes with Kagome.

"Well, well, finally, a formidable foe. Sadly, I haven't time for this. I assume you were the one who killed my servant, I will make you pay. Kukuku." The spoken threat didn't chill Kagome so much as the cold evil in Naraku's eyes; he would carry out his threat, no matter what he had to do…he would get her.

As Naraku took another step forward, a barrier flared up between him and Kagome, Kaede, and the villagers. A voice, seeming to come out of the sky, spoke:

"Naraku, leave this place. You are not welcome here." Kaede sighed and smiled. "Sister Kikyo, you are still watching out for us…"

Naraku glared through the barrier, but looked like he wouldn't dare pass through it, not even to get to Kagome.

"Looks like we'll have to wait for out encounter until later. I'll get you miko! And…maybe you're stupid little fat cat too!" Somehow, this killed the threat to Kagome, and she snorted in laughter. Naraku glared threateningly again, and disappeared. Finding the immediate threat gone, the villagers stood up warily, then grouped around Kagome in celebration.

"You frightened away Naraku!" "Kagome saved us!" "You are a blessing from Kami-sama!"

Kagome was embarrassed by all this praise; the way she saw it, Kikyo was the one who had really saved them all. She waded through the masses until she reached Kaede, who gave her an appraising look.

"Where did ye come from, Kagome?"

Kagome sighed. "Well, I don't really know how to explain this…" And she told Kaede all that had happened to her that day as soon as Kaede had led her to a small hut on the edge of the village.

"…And now I'm stuck here, and I have no idea how to get home. Is there any way you could help me?"

Kaede's eye, the one that was not covered with a patch, sparkled for a moment with hidden knowledge, and then she gave Kagome a reassuring smile.

"There is one way I know of that could help ye back to your own world." She said, the knowing sparkle still in her eye. "The shikon jewel. It has caused this world so much trouble in the past. Any demon greedy for power seeks the jewel, for it will make them nearly invincible. Some power-hungry humans also seek it, but when they use it, they become a heartless demon like the rest of its seekers.

"Kikyo is its protector, which is why you have not met her; she lives in a city where no demon may enter, in order to protect herself and the jewel. You see, long ago, she had a...run-in, of sorts...with a demon. She began to fall in love with this demon, but lost her power because of it. The jewel was almost taken by this same demon, after he nearly killed my sister. He had betrayed her because of the allure of the shikon. Luckily, she managed to seal him to a tree, and our healers were able to save her life.

"She moved to this city not long after, and created a warding around it so strong that no one with even the slightest bit of demon blood can enter. You must travel to this city, find my sister, and wish on the jewel for it to send you home."

Kagome reeled from all this new information. So, Kikyo had been betrayed for the jewel, and almost killed for her pains. Kagome didn't blame her for moving to the city; there she would be safe from the greedy demons looking for the power of the jewel, and any human taking it would surely be cast out of the city, or die because of their new demonic power in a warded place.

"So...how do I get there?" Kagome watched as Kaede's face slid into an expression of deep thought. _'Uh-oh, that can't be a good sign.' _

"Kagome...you'll have to try something for me." _'Definitely not a good sign...'_ "Feel out with your senses, try to find something like a shimmer or sparkle just beyond the edge of your vision."

Kagome wondered about the point of this exercise, but followed instructions anyway. She sat there and felt out with her senses...and kept trying...and kept trying...but nothing was there. She sighed in exasperation: _'Why do I have to do this anyway, it makes no sense!_,' and then she found it. A far distant glistening, seeming just on the edge on her vision, so that when she tried to focus on it, it disappeared.

"Found it! I found it! Now...why'd I have to find it?" Kaede smiled proudly; Kagome showed great potential, it usually took much longer to sense for lesser mikos.

"What ye sense, Kagome, is the shikon jewel." Kagome nodded her head, still not understanding completely. "If you follow it, it will lead you right toward Kikyo and the city."

A streak of joy shot through her. Soon, she promised herself, soon she would be at that city, wishing on the jewel to go back home. She jumped to her feet, and grasped Kaede in a huge hug.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She squealed.

"Ye should not thank me yet Kagome, there are many perils and-" Kagome danced around her, sing-songing "Home, home, I get to go HOME!" and paying no attention to her warnings.

Kaede sighed; it seemed no one listened to her cautions, though they were full of plenty of good sense. Well, she would let Kagome enjoy her happiness for the time being, and decided that she would travel as far as needed with Kagome. "Kagome...Kagome!" For an old woman, she sure had a loud voice, as Kagome discovered. Having gotten the enthused girl's attention, she continued: "We will leave tomorrow, early, so ye shall have a full day to travel." To Kagome's obvious confusion over the use of 'we' instead of 'you,' she explained. "I shall travel with you as far as ye need me. And ye need not worry about supplies, I will take care of it, as you are still unfamiliar with this world."

Kagome smiled her thanks, and because aware of her swiftly growing weariness. Without needing to be asked, Kaede referred her to a small futon on the floor next to the fire pit. Kagome lay down gratefully, and was asleep before her head even touched the floor.

It seemed Kagome had barely begun to dream before sun streamed into her eyes, and a giant fluff ball jumped on her, screaming:

"Get up, get up, it's mooooooooooooorning!" Kagome blinked her bleary eyes...then sat up so quickly the loud fluff ball went flying.

"What the...what are you!" The 'fluff ball' stood up, revealing a boy that looked to be about 5 years old-and who also had pointed ears and a fluffy fox tail.

"I'm Shippou, a kit-AH!" Kagome glomped onto him in the usual fangirlish fashion, and squealed.

"Kawaii! Oh, you're just so CUTE!" Shippou struggled momentarily, but relaxed when she started petting his tail, gently, so as not to hurt him.

"So, Shippou, what are you doing here?"

"I'm coming with you!"

Kagome was stunned to silence for a second. How could such a little kid think he was coming on such a dangerous trip with her? He could get hurt, lost, or worse. What would his parents think of this?_ 'It's probably all just a childhood fancy-type thing...he simply wants a big adventure, like most kids his age,'_ she reasoned.

Kaede entered her hut, saw Kagome holding Shippou and stroking his tail, and smiled.

"I see ye have met our other traveling companion." Kagome jerked her head up, startled.

"You mean...him! But he's just a child! You can't bring a child along on something like this! It's...it's dangerous!" Kaede just laughed.

"Did he not tell ye? He is no ordinary child; he is a kitsune: a fox youkai. True, he is still young, but old enough to protect himself against most of the dangers on this journey."

"Oh..." She looked down at the little fox child, still a bit skeptical. He looked so innocent! How could he possibly be able to protect himself?

Shippou saw the look of disbelief on her face and scoffed. This was the usual reaction he got: something so adorably cute can't possibly protect itself against the big bad monsters! Well, he'd show her...Impatiently hopping out of her arms, he took a battle stance, and looked up at her as if to say 'lookit-what-I-can-do'

"Watch this!" He held out an ordinary toy top for her to see, then spun it on the wood floor. Instead of slowing, it spun faster and faster, suddenly turning into a giant thing about Kagome's height, and proportionally wide. Her eyes widened, and she stared in amazement as it finally slowed and toppled over, once again becoming small enough for Shippou to stick back in his pocket.

"Wow...that was cool! Do it again!" Kagome squealed...then noticed the look Shippou was giving her. "Right...no time..." She still had to get all her supplies from Kaede, or help her put them together if she wasn't finished.

Right on cue, Kaede returned from an obscure corner of the hut, carrying two small packs that looked stuffed to the brim with supplies. Shouldering one herself, she handed the other to Kagome, who was amazed to find that it weighed next to nothing. Kaede anticipated her confusion, and launched into an explanation.

"These packs are spelled to lighten any load while being able to carry quite a large assortment of items at one time."

Kagome nodded her understanding, and nonchalantly commented that they should be starting their journey soon. Kaede was well aware of Kagome's eagerness to begin the journey; the sooner she reached Kikyo and the jewel, the sooner she would be home with her family, where she belonged. Kaede simply smiled at her, but that was enough of a signal to the enthusiastic girl. She eagerly darted out the bamboo hanging that covered the doorway, Shippou close on her heels as it swung crazily in their wake. Kaede muttered something about 'overly excitable young people' and tottered out after them, Buyo beside her.

"How much longer?" Shippou whined pathetically. "I'm tired!"

"Shippou...we haven't even gotten out of the village yet!" Kagome giggled at the little kitsune.

"Oh, right. I knew that, I was just...uh...testing."

Kagome laughed and shook her head, trying to ignore the deep feeling of foreboding that had settled itself in the pit of her stomach. The most direct path toward the city was back where she had come from...through that dark and evil forest. Trying to ward off her feelings of dread, Kagome continued to gently torment the fox-child until they reached the edge of the village. At this point, they all stopped for a moment until all came to the same subconscious decision to continue on. But they had not taken two steps into the line of trees before Kaede stopped again; much more abruptly than the last time, as though meeting an invisible wall.

"Kaede, are you alright?" Kagome asked, concerned.

"Ah, yes Kagome. But it seems ye shall have to continue on without me, as the forest doesn't see fit to admit me..." Kagome's insides froze as these words sunk in; with the older miko traveling with her, she felt she would be far more protected than traveling with just a young kitsune and an overfed cat.

"Kagome, ye need not fear this forest; it gives an impression of being dangerous, but there are few things that can hurt ye. The centipede demon was one such creature, and ye had no trouble with it. Here, take these for extra protection if your powers do fail to awaken the next time ye have need.' And with that, Kaede pulled the bow and arrows the she had been carrying off her back, and passed them to Kagome with a solemn bow. Sensing that there was also some sentimental value behind this gift, Kagome gave her thanks for such a wonderful gift, and promised to use it well.

Kagome and her two remaining companions turned back to the forest and began to walk away from Kaede and the village; all of them sensing that this would not be a journey soon forgotten... _'Kami-sama, keep them safe.'_ Kaede prayed as she walked back to village, saying a silent goodbye to the travelers.


End file.
